Our Bureau
Singapore
Ahead of the impending Diwali celebration in Singapore, a banner came up asking residents to clean up the rubbish left behind following the Diwali celebration. Feedback over the years prompted the Mountbatten Residents’ Network (RN) to put up this banner.
It will be taken down to avoid further misunderstanding, according to a parliamentarian for the area. Singapore-based Indians are scheduled to celebrate the festival of lights on Sunday in the multi-racial prosperous city-state.
Singapore, globally known for maintaining a clean environment, has littering as an offense.
Mountbatten Member of Parliament Lim Biow Chuan said “That banner was a ground-up initiative by the RN because they had received feedback over the years about the large amount of litter left behind after Diwali celebrations.”
A second banner – with an image of Lim and a message wishing Mountbatten residents a happy Diwali – was put up by the People’s Association above the RN banner. This will not be removed.
A social media user Susiilaa Shanmugam put up a post in which she questioned the two banners put up in Mountbatten, with a photo attached. She also asked in her post if such a message was issued during Chinese New Year or the Hungry Ghost (Chinese) Festival.
As per Lim “It so happens that at this one location, they were placed one on top of the other, and this has then been misconstrued to be targeted against a particular race – which was never the intent.” Singapore Parliamentarians have put up similar banners in their constituencies with best wishes to constituents celebrating Diwali.
